11 Ways Fintech and Banking Will Change in 2017 Page 3

8. AI Anticipates Customer Needs

Andy Hernandez, Head of eBusiness, Regions Financial Corp.

“The use of Artificial Intelligence to anticipate the customer’s needs will be an area of growth not only in 2017 but throughout the foreseeable future. Simply put, we want to break down barriers for customers by consistently evolving how we anticipate and meet their unique financial needs. We can accomplish this based on the individual relationship we have with each client, both in-person and through digital, and what we learn about our clients based on the services they need, their spending habits, their savings habits and more. This is to the benefit of both the customer and the bank. The customer can be connected with financial solutions that help them save or invest wisely; they can learn about services that better meet their needs than what they may have had in mind; and we, as a company, can have a deeper relationship with each customer by offering a more customized, seamless user experience… To help do all this, we’ve unleashed the resources of our user experience group and put their skills and expertise into practice in new ways that benefit our customers. These are the people who pay particular attention to gestures, customer journey mapping, pixel-level perfection and accessibility – items that, if you don’t fully address, can interrupt that seamless, perfect digital banking experience. We’ll build on this progress in the years to come.”

9. Digital Stops Being Just Another Channel

Don Bergal, Chief Marketing Officer of Avoka

“The banks will stop thinking about digital as separate channel and will follow the lead of retailers… keeping the channels completely separate doesn’t make sense, so banks will take advantage of digital to keep customers on the hook, and [might] close transactions in branch… Mobile banking has already tipped… and banks are [still] moving in the direction of mobile. Banks can’t think of mobile as a separate channel.”

Getting the preparations right in 2017 will separate winners from losers.”

11. Virtual Assistants Break Out

Tim Leithead, Global Enterprise Architect, Moven

“I think what will have a breakout moment in 2017 is virtual assistants — in 2016 we had Google break into the space; you’ve got to believe that Apple will do something more with Siri… voice can be exceptionally powerful and I don’t think people realize how far it has come. As we start to work on voice control and how we can use it, I think it will become much more powerful.”

If even one of these predictions holds true, 2017 is going to be an even bigger year for fintech than 2016, which means we have a lot to look forward to. Until next year, may your funding be high, your API design sleek, and your customers satisfied. Let’s ring in 2017 with a bang, shall we?